What ages Pu?

Here's a topic... anyone know what actually does the aging in pu? I would guess it's either/or bacteria or fungus (yeast) - as in sourdough or alcohol. I was interested as to the other Medusa thread and oxygen vs. air flow.

With reports of some of you getting stoned on pu I wouldn't be suprised if there's some interesting by-products of the maturation process... shhhhh...

They traditionally called it 'fermentation' in the tea industry, and the term still gets used a lot. My guess is that it's probably a hold-over from before they had the means to find out that it was oxidation and not actual fermentation.

The thing about puerh aging is that nobody really knows for sure; maybe someday someone will do some hard science. The types and amount of bacteria, mold, and fungus seem to depend mostly on storage conditions and not on age.

ABx wrote:maybe someday someone will do some hard science. The types and amount of bacteria, mold, and fungus...

Then they can create a probiotic product that has all these goodies in them. Perhaps a spray that you use on all new pieces before putting them into storage.

That general sentiment is why I'm actually surprised that they haven't done more. Once they figure out exactly how it ages they could find ways to make "real" aged puerh a lot faster - whether it's enhanced oxidation or something with the organisms and/or enzymes. Granted, bacterial colonies can only grow as large as their nutrient store will supply (which is why I mention the levels of microorganisms depend on storage rather than age).

I would actually like that because we could get good puerh for a lot cheaper, and the real aged stuff would actually be worth even more (collectors and connoisseurs would tout true aging as better because of the characteristics from the storage environment, but the speed-aged stuff would hold us over).